"When you have a football at your feet, you are free."
Ronaldinho's open letter to his eight-year-old self reveals everything you need to know about the philosophy the Brazilian adopted during his career and, indeed, his life in general. "You are smiling because football is fun," goes another line in the letter, acknowledging the trademark grin he wore while playing. "Why would you be serious? Your goal is to spread joy."
There are so many moments in Ronaldinho's career where he was free with the ball at his feet and few demonstrate how easily he joyously glided around a pitch unperturbed more than his mind-boggling goal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the last 16 of the 2004-05 Champions League.
The story of Ronaldinho's sensational 'dancing goal' against Chelsea
Having progressed from a group containing AC Milan, Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic, a Frank Rijkaard-led Barca set up a last-16 clash against Jose Mourinho's Chelsea and the Catalan side laid down a marker with a 2-1 victory at Camp Nou in the first leg.
They arrived at Stamford Bridge, kitted out in gold, and a picture of confidence, but the Blues blitzed them in the first 20 minutes, going 3-0 up thanks to goals from Eidur Gudjohnsen, Frank Lampard and Damien Duff. With the tie overturned - Chelsea were now leading 4-2 on aggregate - Ronaldinho took charge of Barca's attempted resurgence.
After dispatching a penalty well beyond Petr Cech's reach around the half-hour mark, Ronaldinho produced a moment that still leaves people marvelling decades later. John Terry's desperate clearance of a high ball only got as far as a young Andres Iniesta, who laid it off to Ronaldinho at the edge of the box. With three players swarmed around him and a few more blocking his path to goal, the playmaker shimmied his leg twice then swivelled his hip to unleash a shot into the left corner of the net. Cech was powerless to resist.
The Guardian's minute-by-minute text commentary described it as "an astonishingly good goal", while the BBC report hailed it as a moment of "dazzling brilliance". Even today, Chelsea's official website wonders if it is the best Champions League goal the club has ever conceded.
Unfortunately for Barcelona, Ronaldinho's trickery was insufficient in the face of Mourinho's tactical and mental mastery, as Terry scored a fourth for Chelsea to make the score 4-2 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate.
READ MORE: The story of Roy Keane's Ronaldo handshake snub
The Blues went on to beat Bayern Munich in the quarter-final before succumbing to Liverpool, the eventual champions, in the semi-final. The Reds went on to create a magical moment of their own in the final by coming back from 3-0 down to defeat AC Milan.
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Nevertheless, despite knocking Barca out and reaching the penultimate hurdle, Duff, who scored one of the crucial goals on the way to victory that day, still feels that Ronaldinho "showed us all up with his amazing performance." It is quite something when the most memorable thing from a big home victory is a goal that was conceded.
Indeed, two decades after the goal, Cech is still asked about it. The legendary Czech shotstopper was one of the finest goalkeepers of his generation, but no one will forget the day when he was outfoxed by Ronaldinho.
"I actually remember it quite well," he told Ben Foster in 2025. "I thought he was going to step over and try to go one way or another. Then he stopped completely and you think, 'what is he actually going to do?'. You can see he sort of started dancing around and used the toe punt. The worst thing is it was so quick and so surprising that the moment I was ready to push, I could literally see the ball by my side... It's fine, it was a good strike.
"You don't expect [a toe poke] because you always feel like everybody tries to prepare the ball for the better shot, but the best players always find a solution to find a bit of space to get the shot away."
Who played that day?
Chelsea vs Barcelona, March 8, 2005 lineups
| Chelsea XI | Barcelona XI |
|---|---|
| Petr Cech | Victor Valdes |
| Paulo Ferreira (Glen Johnson, 51) | Belletti (Ludovic Giuly, 84) |
| John Terry | Presas Oleguer |
| Ricardo Carvalho | Carles Puyol |
| William Gallas | G. van Bronckhorst (Sylvinho, 46) |
| Claude Makelele | Gerard |
| Frank Lampard | Deco |
| Joe Cole | Andres Iniesta (Maxi Lopez, 85) |
| Damien Duff (Robert Huth, 85) | Xavi |
| Eidur Gudjohnsen (Tiago, 78) | Ronaldinho |
| Mateja Kezman | Samuel Eto'o |
Both teams were packed full of talent, with Chelsea boasting a powerful backline as well as a formidable midfield, anchored by the great Claude Makelele. Frank Lampard was the man who got closest to Ronaldinho before his sensational goal, while Mateja Kezman led the line, with Didier Drogba unavailable.
Barca's starting XI featured the young Andres Iniesta and Xavi, who, along with Deco provided support to Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o in attack.
What are your memories of the goal? Let us know in the comments!